Dana White: ‘Anderson Silva Will Be Fighting By End of Year’

Former UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva (pictured) suffered one of the most horrific injuries in mixed martial arts history when he snapped his left leg in two at UFC 168. Hard to believe, but things could have been much worse for Silva.

According to UFC president Dana White, Silva may return to the Octagon before the year’s out. However, if he would have torn ligaments in his knee, a far more common injury not just in MMA but most professional sports, “The Spider” would be riding the pine for roughly 15 months.

“What’s crazy about that injury is that [Silva] will be walking without crutches in a few weeks,” White said on Monday’s edition of ESPN2’s SportsNation. “He will be training in less than six months and he will be fighting by the end of the year.

“So, if you blow your ACL out, you’re out for a year and three months. You break your leg in half, you’re back before the end of the year. It’s a broken bone.”

Sure, Silva could technically return to MMA with a titanium rod holding his shin together, but the real question is, should the 38-year-old attempt a return? Given his advanced age and unquestionable status as MMA’s GOAT, what left is there to prove?

White acknowledged that, despite the ambitious timetable he laid out, Silva still faces a long road of recovery ahead. So, let’s not count these comeback chickens before they hatch.

“The reality is, he’s got to come back first,” White said. “Let him start training and see what happens, and then we’ll go from there.”